Lift Bridge Brewery based in Stillwater celebrated its first week of having an expansion site this past Friday, twenty miles away in New Richmond, Wisconsin.
In March, Lift Bridge announced they were opening a taproom and facility in spaced leased from Big Watt Beverage Co. which specializes in coffee and plant-based energy drinks.
"It's been really exciting," said Dan Schwartz, co-founder and CEO of Lift Bridge. "The community has been very welcoming and even some people from Stillwater have come here and are excited to have both places to go to."
Lift Bridge's expansion into Wisconsin highlights the ongoing battle over beer laws at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul.
For the last several months, the Alliance of Minnesota Craft Breweries, including Schell’s, Surly, Castle Danger, Fulton, Indeed, and Lift Bridge have advocated for lawmakers to lift the state's 20,000-barrell cap on selling growlers. Breweries have stated the COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted how their businesses are limited by outdated laws.
So far, the legislation has mainly sat dormant inside the statehouse and has failed to grow support in the final weeks of the current session.
"We love Minnesota businesses expanding and we love to go to those businesses when they're opening a new facility," said House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt. "We hate when that's in Wisconsin."
Daudt, who toured Lift Bridge's New Richmond site on Friday, said that their expansion is just the tip of the iceberg. Minneapolis-based Tattersall Distilling in early March announced plans to open a location in River Falls, Wisconsin because of Minnesota's liquor laws.
"We are losing Minnesota businesses," Daudt said. "Lift Bridge's new facility should've opened in Minneapolis or St. Paul, not in New Richmond. It's very telling that businesses are making these decisions. We're losing not only the economic opportunity, but the jobs that go with it."
Lift Bridge's new Wisconsin taproom doesn't look a whole lot different than its Stillwater location. One of the main differences is that the Wisconsin location has a walk-up cooler, where customers can purchase a variety of Lift Bridge products, in any size they prefer.
"You can buy whatever you'd like here in Wisconsin and that's not possible for brewers in Minnesota," said Rep. Jim Nash (R-47A). "I talk to friends around the country and they think it's the most obscure thing in the world. We have to act or we're going to see businesses moving with their feet. They're going to leave the state."
According to Rep. Nash and the Alliance of Minnesota Craft Breweries, the three-tiered distribution system supported by the Teamsters Union, which represents drivers and workers at represents the drivers and workers at wholesalers distributing alcohol products in Minnesota, have pushed back the most on getting the law changed.
"The communication I have with the Unions is very abrupt," Rep. Nash said. "Their criticism is that it will eliminate jobs. If you talk to the owners of Lift Bridge, their Wisconsin distributors last year saw increased business because of the flexibility and freedom that they had. It's completely opposite of what you're hearing from Minnesota distributors."
Minority Leader Daudt said Minnesotans need to get involved to push the effort forward.
"What we need to happen is we need Minnesotans to rise up and say they've had enough and that it's time to get with the times. Let's modernize our liquor laws."
Even with the two-year budget discussions headlining the session's final days, Daudt believes there is opportunity to change adjust the liquor laws.
"We certainly can get it done and there will be a lot of things that will emerge here and there," he added. "People know about it and know it's on the horizon."
